Bored with the same old potjie competitions, Rudi Janse van Rensburg came up with the idea of a Boere Sports Day. An event where, for a small participation fee, multiple four-playerteams could compete in various ‘Boere Games’- such as sack jumping, egg and spoon races and giant jenga. As the numbers for the event grew, it garnered the possibility of raising a decent amount of funds, but for what cause?

Attention turned to the plight of the Tete donkeys. Tete has a large donkey population and has seen many horrific cases of abuse over the past few years. The outcry started with two donkeys standing on the side of the road close to MLT. The pair was suffering from grotesque injuries, including a massively swollen, possibly broken, leg and one limb appeared to be rotting away.

This type of sight, unfortunately, was not a new phenomenon. Debbie Killoran had already taken steps toward changing the situation and had started an animal sanctuary at Buluzi, where she now has two rescued donkeys under her wing. She agreed to have the event at Buluzi, and one of her rescued donkeys, Spirit, became the mascot of what is now a campaign which is gaining momentum.

The campaign has long-term goals to efficiently and humanely treat the donkeys of Tete, becoming a registered charity and working with government vets and officials, who have responded with enthusiasm and who will attend the upcoming event.

The first Boere Sports Day will be at Buluzi on 26 April, starting at 9.00am. The aim of this event is mainly to raise awareness and money for medicines, but it is just the beginning of a vision for the humane treatment of donkeys and other animals alike, in Mozambique. So come and have some fun and join us for this good cause.